The men of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments and 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments were the first African Americans in the nation's history to serve in the regular peacetime army. Before these regiments were organized, blacks were allowed to serve in the army only in wartime. They earned an outstanding record for fidelity and bravery in spite of the racial prejudice and discrimination they experienced. The soldiers accepted the Native Americans' moniker of "buffalo soldiers" as a term of respect and honor, and it is often applied today to U.S. Army units that are linear descendants of the original buffalo soldiers.